Bath lab will spot clues from loos

Kaninstudio

A NEW research centre in Bath, UK is aiming to develop the country’s first nationwide early-warning system for local infectious disease outbreaks based on wastewater analysis.

The University of Bath’s Centre of Excellence in Water-based Early-Warning Systems for Health Protection (CWBE) will analyse wastewater from nearby communities by testing for hundreds of trace chemicals and biological markers such as virus and bacterial RNA and DNA. The analysis will then be used to detect potential outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The CWBE is the first centre in the UK to use this approach to infectious disease monitoring, known as wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE).

In the first year, the CWBE will use data from wastewater samples to provide baseline levels. It will take samples from four “living labs” near Bath, including two urban water catchment areas in Bath and Bristol, and two rural catchment areas in Somerset, providing weekly analysis of levels of various pathogens. They will then begin analysing the water to test interventions aimed at improving public health.

If the initial research proves successful, the researchers hope to extend the system nationwide, allowing them to quickly identify “infectious disease hotspots”.